Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Purchases 101 Shares of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,204 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Casey’s General Stores were worth $1,270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CASY. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 26.6% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $359,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 9.1% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 23,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,044,000 after purchasing an additional 1,983 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 113.3% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 12,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,604,000 after purchasing an additional 6,408 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. raised its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 14.5% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 40,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,521,000 after purchasing an additional 5,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 3,846.1% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 172,320 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,750,000 after purchasing an additional 176,920 shares in the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Casey’s General Stores Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CASY opened at $411.25 on Friday. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $268.07 and a 12-month high of $439.68. The company has a market capitalization of $15.27 billion, a PE ratio of 28.66, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50 day moving average of $407.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $390.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The company reported $4.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by $0.56. Casey’s General Stores had a return on equity of 17.17% and a net margin of 3.57%. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.24 earnings per share. Casey’s General Stores’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will post 13.94 EPS for the current year.

Casey’s General Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Casey’s General Stores’s payout ratio is presently 13.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on CASY. Gordon Haskett began coverage on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Monday, November 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Casey’s General Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $450.00 price target (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Casey’s General Stores from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Casey’s General Stores from $451.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $424.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Casey’s General Stores

In other news, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $427.13, for a total transaction of $192,208.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $959,761.11. This represents a 16.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mike Spanos bought 500 shares of Casey’s General Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $396.76 per share, with a total value of $198,380.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,097 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,228,765.72. This trade represents a 19.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Casey’s General Stores

Casey’s General Stores, Inc engages in the provision of management and operation of convenience stores and gasoline stations. It provides self-service gasoline, a wide selection of grocery items, and an array of freshly prepared food items. The firm offers food, beverages, tobacco products, health and beauty aids, automotive products, and other non-food items.